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Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Since Bush is getting blamed for the actual hurricanes we are experiencing, I thought it quite interesting to find an article on NASA’s site showing a major change in Mars climate. Since what is happening, the reduction of it’s polar region, is similar to what is happening here on Earth and Bush is being blamed for that via Global Warming, it must mean then that Mars is experiencing their warming for the same reasons. All that car exhaust, factory pollutants, and all those other really bad non-eco-friendly devices we all love to use. Further, since many blame Bush’s eco-policies of the last three years on our problems, they seemingly have effected Mars, too! It’s absolute amazing, look:
…for three Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars’ south pole have shrunk from the previous year’s size, suggesting a climate change in progress.
I guess the media, some Democrats, and The Other Sven have been right all this time. It IS Bush’s fault. We’re seeing the exact same thing happening now on different planets! Man, the dude is spreading the problem!! What are we going to do?! Or maybe we finally have an example that Global Warming is not causes so much by man, as many have suggested, as other scientists have been saying for some time. Maybe, just maybe, the planet actually has more to do with it then we do!
Now hold on, I’m not saying that we don’t have responsibility. I need to make that clear. This is not an open ticket to trash our planet. I believe we should strive to make our air and water clean and do what we can. But, I do also believe that many of been extreme on this Global Warming problem and an example of that would be those blaming Bush for the heightened hurricane season. It’s great to finally have another model where man isn’t and see similar climate results.
September 21st, 2005 at 21:36
You’re a loon. When did I ever blame the hurricanes themselves on Bush? Although global warming is generally something the Republicans ignore, it is something mankind has been contributing to over many decades. But then, you’re too narrow minded to listen to anyone but yourself.
I do, however, say that our troops are in the wrong gulf:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/09/katrina.natguard.ap/
September 22nd, 2005 at 2:09
Just hanging around on the net until meetings start and I find you have an either an alter-ego or there are 2 people in the world called Sven…
Just finished the Michael Crichton book “State of Fear” that is based on environmental issues and how people abuse them. The only thing I have to say beyond the fact that I know very little about the science behind all the claims is that I’m not impressed about either side of the global warming argument. Far too much emotion and spin are put onto the issues and, in the absence of fact, wild claims from people wanting to make a name for themselves just continue to obscure the facts required for meaningful debate. I truly blame the media, one for the over-hyped way they deliver the debate and two for the requirement to boil the debate down to a sound byte. As a consequence the main protagonists in the debates do nothing but talk in sound bytes not knowing which one will be chosen.
Just to add my ignorance to the stack I reckon steps should be taken to look for alternatives and the solar chimney in Mildura, Australia is one that piqued my interest. Maybe something that the likes of Nevada (wow I know a US state other than CA) may be able to implement?
Website for reference including a video is:
http://www.enviromission.com.au/faqs/faqs.htm
Cheers,
September 22nd, 2005 at 6:58
Yes, The Other Sven, I am a loon. I openly admit that.
You did make some other comments in the past, either off line or here on the site, that implied Bush’s policies where the reason for the hurricane we are experiencing. I can certainly go back and find that reference, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and say maybe you didn’t say that, specifically.
As to my “narrow-mindedness”, you now misquote me. I said I was not open-minded on some things. If I was so close-minded, then I would still be a drone on my Windows machine and not have purchased the greatest laptop, my Ti-Book, or my wife’s beloved Mac mini. I’m of the 5% there, buddy.
Rick, I agree. I think this whole topic is an emotional thing and I concur with you that both sides do focus in on an extreme.
As I posted originally, here, I don’t think we should trash our planet. I think we’ve made great strides to prevent that and we make even more. We are in the process of building a new home and we will be adding solar to it so we do not have to suck energy from California’s already taxed grid. A diesel engine truck is our next purchase and when a large enough hybrid family car (that is safe and not made of the same material a Coke can is) is released, I believe that will be our next car as well.
While The Other Sven thinks Republican’s have ignored Global Warming, I think it’s as you have pointed out, I think both sides have just ignored the facts. I think Mars now proves that.
September 25th, 2005 at 10:11
I have said I blame Bush and the rest of our Government (yes, Mayor Nagin for his part as well) for the failed RESPONSE to hurricane Katrina, not the hurricane itself. To blame Bush for the increase in hurricane activity we are experiencing would be like a smoker blaming his last pack of cigarettes he smoked for his lung cancer. It’s still an unhealthy habit, and it stinks.
And no, I’m also not saying definitavely that global warming is the cause of recent hurricanes either. It may well be a natural cycle of the earth we are experiencing. But to use that as an excuse to ignore the role we are playing in poluting our planet is pitiful. We need to be more conscientious of the environment, for the sake of our children and grandchildren.
September 25th, 2005 at 10:28
TOS (The Other Sven), dude I FULLY agree with everything you said! While I believe Nagin should get the bulk of the blame for the response, I do believe Bush didn’t do the best job either. He’s admitted that and has taken responsibility for it. I’m still waiting to hear any resemblance of responsibility from Nagin.
You nailed it on the hurricanes and environment. I agree, we need to do all we can to improve our use of this planet and not trash it.
September 25th, 2005 at 11:08
Amazingly, and a first– yes Bush accepted responsibility. But we need to demand accountability as well. Why are Republicans blocking an independent investigation into the failures in the initial relief efforts?
To much is made into the accountability of Mayor Nagin however, and the impact the school buses may or may not have had in evacuating N.O. — Yes, their evacuation plan failed. Yes, they should have used the buses to evacuate people. But in order to do so, there need to be drivers for the bus, gasoline, and most importantely, a destination for them outside of New Orleans. Then, if you have all of the above, you need to convince people to get on the buses and leave their homes behind. Even if the buses were used successfully, only a small percentage of those left stranded in the city could have been evacuated. That said, yes, their evacuation plan was clearly not sufficient. But I don’t vote for mayor in New Orleans, and neither do you.
Bush sits at the head of our countries government. The bulk of responsibility lies with him. Mayor Nagin did not cut FEMAs funding, or appoint “Brownie” or Chertoff to their respective positions. Nagin did not send us to war in Iraq, wasting billions of needed tax dollars in an unnecessary conflict. Nagin did not play guitar on vacation in sunny San Diego while his city drowned, a full day after Katrina had hit.
I do blame Nagin for one thing: he voted for Bush.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Nagin
September 27th, 2005 at 21:52
Republicans are blocking an independent council because the Democrats are kicking-and-screaming like elementary school children against a bi-partisan investigation. Interesting how many of these very same Democrats vocally demanded a bi-partisan investigation for Iran-Contra. Hypocritical? I’d say so.
In light of the THREE MILLION people that SUCCESSFULLY evacuated from the Houston area prior to Hurricane Rita, I would say your second point is mute. With not a single death attributed to the second hurricane and success of the largest war-time and non-war-time evacuation in American history, we have seen local governments CAN do there job correctly. Stop blammoing Bush for everything and fess up to the fact that Nagin is a complete failure when it comes to the protection of his city. He needs to wake up and stop playing for the press.
TOS, you need to study up on your “How the U.S. Government Works”. Nagin and his clueless governor are the first in line to activate the motion of preparing for a natural disaster. He had to told by Bush, the one you say did nothing, Saturday night - the day before the hurricane hit - to call for an evacuation. He also urged him to declare a state-of-emergency, key word here is STATE. This gives the Federal government right and jurisdiction to help. That didn’t happen until, what is that, the day after the hurricane passed. Mmm, isn’t that the same day Fed’ boots hit the ground? Again, your point is mute since you don’t have the facts correctly sorted.
Again, I will state it for the record, Bush didn’t do everything right. Blanco did less right. Nagin did the worse. All three levels of government blew it to some degree but to just put all the blame on Bush is asinine. It shows a complete misunderstanding on how this government works and proves why foreigners know more about our country then we do. That’s sad.
September 28th, 2005 at 20:09
You might want to take a look at the actual timeline of events, as you have your facts wrong.
http://www.thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline
Friday, August 26
GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA [Office of the Governor]
GULF COAST STATES REQUEST TROOP ASSISTANCE FROM PENTAGON: At a 9/1 press conference, Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, commander, Joint Task Force Katrina, said that the Gulf States began the process of requesting additional forces on Friday, 8/26. [DOD]
Saturday, August 27
GOV. HALEY BARBOUR DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN MISSISSIPPI [Office of the Governor]
GOV. BLANCO ASKS BUSH TO DECLARE FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: “I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.” [Office of the Governor]
FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO RESPOND TO KATRINA: “Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.” [White House]
Sunday, August 28
2AM CDT – KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]
MORNING — LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE: “Forecasters Fear Levees Won’t Hold Katrina”: “Forecasters feared Sunday afternoon that storm driven waters will lap over the New Orleans levees when monster Hurricane Katrina pushes past the Crescent City tomorrow.” [Lafayette Daily Advertiser]
9:30 AM CDT — MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES FIRST EVER MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NEW ORLEANS: “We’re facing the storm most of us have feared,” said Nagin. “This is going to be an unprecedented event.” [Times-Picayune]
AFTERNOON — BUSH, BROWN, CHERTOFF WARNED OF LEVEE FAILURE BY NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR: Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center: “‘We were briefing them way before landfall. … It’s not like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could be topped.’”
______________________________
It became a federal issue when a federal emergency was declared. That said, sure there is plenty of blame to go around to the City, State AND Federal level. As far as I’m concerned, fire them all. But Bush has actually already admit responsibility. But you go right ahead and keep those “blinders for Bush” on.
Nero Played fiddle while Rome burned. Bush played guitar while New Orleans drowned.
http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com/bagnews/2005/09/the_week_americ_1.html
In the days after Hurricane Katrina, Condi went shopping for shoes, Cheney went shopping for a house, and Bush went shopping for a clue.
And comparing Katrina to Rita is just stupid. To borrow from John Stewart, that is like comparing Ghostbusters with Ghostbuster II. One was a blockbuster, one was a flop.
I find your desire to put your Republican party and President before the best interest of our country quite disturbing.
September 28th, 2005 at 21:34
Why, you don’t get it. Nagin and Blanco played the blame game while THOUSANDS OF THEIR CITIZENS DIED. I’ve said my response and yet you still try to focus all the blame on Bush. This is why the country is so engrossed with problems, because everyone want to blame the person who doesn’t deserve the blame because the person(s) that do are on the blamers side. Hey, I’ll give you some credit, at least your loyal to your trash.